I started salivating at the very thought of it.
So we went to the Old Vienna Inn, and relaxed in the warm steamy atmosphere of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. After big servings of goulash, schnitzel Parisienne, and apple strudel with whipped cream, we sat back sated. Sensory overload. Even Arnold was looking up a little. He had been quiet through the meal, but then again we all had, being busy.
We ordered a bottle of rakshi, which is a potent local beverage of indeterminate origin. When it came we began drinking.
Freds said, “Hey, Arnold, you’re looking better.”
“Yeah, I don’t feel so bad.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin streaked all red; we had all split our sun-destroyed lips more than once, trying to shovel the food in too fast. He got set to start the slow process of eating another cigar, unwrapping one very slowly. “Not so bad at all.” And then he grinned; he couldn’t help himself; he grinned so wide that he had to grab the napkin and staunch the flow from his lips again.
“Well, it’s a shame those guys stomped your movie,” Freds said.
“Yeah, well.” Arnold waved an arm expansively. “That’s life.”
I was amazed. “Arnold, I can’t believe this is you talking. Here those guys took your videotape of all that suffering you just put us through, and they stomp it, and you say, “That’s life?”
He took a long hit of the rakshi. “Well,” he said, waggling his eyebrows up and down fiendishly. He leaned over the table toward us. “They got one copy of it, anyway.”
Freds and I looked at each other.
“Couple hundred dollars of tape there that they crunched. I suppose I ought to bill them for it. But I’m a generous guy; I let it pass.”
“One copy?” I said.
“Yeah.” He tipped his head. “Did you see that box, kind of like a suitcase, there in the corner of my room at the Guesthouse?”
We shook our heads.
“Neither did the Brits. Not that they would have recognized it. It’s a video splicer, mainly. But a copier too. You stick a cassette in there and push a button and it copies the cassette for storage, and then you can do all your splicing off the master. You make your final tape that way. Great machine. Most freelance video people have them now, and these portable babies are really the latest. Saved my ass, in this case.”
“Arnold,” I said. “You’re going to get those guys in trouble! And us too!”
“Hey,” he warned, “I’ve got the splicer under lock and key, so don’t get any ideas.”
“Well you’re going to get us banned from Nepal for good!”
“Nah. I’ll give you all stage names. You got any preferences along those lines?”
“Arnold!” I protested.
“Hey, listen,” he said, and drank more rakshi. “Most of that climb was in Tibet, right? Chinese aren’t going to be worrying about it. Besides, you know the Nepali Ministry of Tourism—can you really tell me they’ll ever get it together to even see my film, much less take names from it and track those folks down when they next apply for a visa? Get serious!”
“Hmm,” I said, consulting with my rakshi.
“So what’d you get?” Freds asked.
“Everything. I got some good long-distance work of you guys finding the body up there—ha!—you thought I didn’t get that, right? I tell you I was filming your thoughts up there! I got that, and then the Brits climbing on the ridge—everything. I’m gonna make stars of you all.”
Freds and I exchanged a relieved glance. “Remember about the stage names,” I said.
“Sure. And after I edit it you won’t be able to tell where on the mountain the body was, and with the names and all, I really think Marion and the rest will love it. Don’t you? They were just being shy. Old fashioned! I’m going to send them all prints of the final product, and they’re gonna love it. Marion in particular. She’s gonna look beautiful.” He waved the cigar and a look of cowlike yearning disfigured his face. “In fact, tell you a little secret, I’m gonna accompany that particular print in person, and make it part of my proposal to her. I think she’s kind of fond of me, and I bet you anything she’ll agree to marry me when she sees it, don’t you think?”
“Sure,” Freds said. “Why not?” He considered it. “Or if not in this life, then in the next.”
Arnold gave him an odd look. “I’m going to ask her along on my next trip, which looks like it’ll be China and Tibet. You know how the Chinese have been easing up on the Tibetan religions lately? Well, the clerk at the Guest House gave me a telegram on my way out—my agent tells me that the authorities in Lhasa have decided they’re going to rebuild a whole bunch of Buddhist monasteries that they tore down during the Cultural Revolution, and it looks like I’ll be allowed to film some of it. That should make for a real heart-string basher, and I bet Marion would love to see it, don’t you?”
Freds and I grinned at each other. “I’d love to see it,” Freds declared. “Here’s to the monasteries, and a free Tibet!”
We toasted the idea, and ordered another bottle.
Arnold waved his cigar. “Meanwhile, this Mallory stuff is dynamite. It’s gonna make a hell of a movie.”
21
Which is why I can tell you about this one—the need for secrecy is going to be blown right out the window as soon as they air Arnold’s film, Nine Against Everest: Seven Men, One Woman, and a Corpse. I hear both PBS and the BBC have gone for it, and it should be on any day now. Check local listings for times in your area.
HONORABLE MENTIONS
1987
Vance Aandahl, “Deathmarch in Disneyland,” F & SF, July.
Poul Anderson, “Letter from Tomorrow,” Analog, August.
Isaac Asimov, “Galatea,” IASFM, mid-December.
Iain Banks, “Descendant,” Tales from the Forbidden Planet.
John Barnes, “Digressions from the Second Person Future,” IASFM, January.
Neal Barrett, Jr., “Class of ’61,” IASFM, October.
———, “Highbrow,” IASFM, July.
Greg Bear, “The Visitation,” Omni, June.
Gregory Benford, “As Big as the Ritz,” Interzone 18.
———, “The Mandikini,” The Universe.
Michael Bishop, “God’s Hour,” Omni, June.
James P. Blaylock, “Myron Chester and the Toads,” IASFM, February.
Bruce Boston, “One-Trick Dog,” IASFM, May.
Ben Bova, “Silent Night,” IASFM, December.
J. P. Boyd, “The Anger of Time,” F & SF, February.
Eric Brown, “Krash-Bangg Joe and the Pineal-Zen Equation,” Interzone 21.
Edward Bryant, “The Baku,” Night Visions 4.
———, “Doing Colfax,” Night Visions 4.
William S. Burroughs, “Ghost Lemurs of Madagascar,” Omni, April.
Pat Cadigan, “The Boys in the Rain,” Twilight Zone, June.
———, “Lunatic Bridge,” The Book of Omni Science Fiction #5.
Orson Scott Card, “Carthage City,” IASFM, September.
———, “Eye for Eye,” IASFM, March.
———, “Runaway,” IASFM, June.
Lillian Stewart Carl, “Out of Darkness,” IASFM, April.
Jonathan Carroll, “Friend’s Best Man,” IASFM, January.
Susan Casper, “Covenant with a Dragon,” In the Field of Fire.
———, “Under Her Skin,” Amazing, March.
Kathryn Cramer, “Forbidden Knowledge,” Mathenauts.
Jack Dann, “Visitors,” IASFM, October.
——— and Jeanne Van Buren Dann, “The Apotheosis of Isaac Rosen,” Omni, June.
Avram Davidson, “The Engine of Samoset Erastus Hale and One Other, Unknown,” Amazing, July.
———, “Mountaineers Are Always Free,” F & SF, October.
Charles de Lint, “Uncle Dobbin’s Parrot Fair,” IASFM, November.
Paul DiFilippo, “Conspiracy of Noise,” F & SF, November.
David Drake, “The Fool,” Whisper
s VI.
George Alec Effinger, “Another Dead Grandfather,” F & SF, December.
———, “King of the Cyber Rifles,” IASFM, mid-December.
M. J. Engh, “Aurin Tree,” IASFM, February.
George M. Ewing, “A Little Further up the Fox,” IASFM, April.
Sharon N. Farber, “Ice Dreams,” IASFM, March.
Brad Ferguson, “The World Next Door,” IASFM, September.
Michael Flynn, “In the Country of the Blind,” Analog, Oct.-Nov.
John M. Ford, “Fugue State,” Under the Wheel.
Karen Joy Fowler, “Letters from Home,” In the Field of Fire.
Robert Frazier, “Across those Endless Skies,” In the Field of Fire.
Stephen Gallagher, “Like Shadows in the Dark,” Shadows 10.
William Gibson, “The Silver Walks,” High Times, November.
Lisa Goldstein, “Cassandra’s Photographs,” IASFM, August.
Charles L. Grant, “Everything to Live For,” Whispers VI.
Peni Griffin, “Nereid,” Twilight Zone, April.
Russell Griffin, “Saving Time,” F & SF, February.
Philip C. Jennings, “The Castaway,” Amazing, March.
———, “Moondo Bizarro,” New Destinies II, Fall.
Gwyneth Jones, “The Snow Apples,” Tales from the Forbidden Planet.
Richard Kadrey, “Goodbye Houston Street, Goodbye,” Interzone 19.
James Patrick Kelly, “Heroics,” IASFM, November.
John Kessel, “Credibility,” In the Field of Fire.
Garry Kilworth, “Hogfoot Right and Bird-Hands,” Other Edens.
———, “Paper Moon,” Omni, January.
Dean R. Koontz, “Hardshell,” Night Visions 4.
Nancy Kress, “Cannibals,” IASFM, May.
———, “Glass,” IASFM, September.
Marc Laidlaw, “Nutrimancer,” IASFM, August.
———, “Shalamari,” IASFM, December.
Tanith Lee, “Crying in the Rain,” Other Edens.
Justin Leiber, “Tit for Tat,” Amazing, July.
Bruce McAllister, “Kingdom Come,” Omni, February.
Jack McDevitt, “Dutchman,” IASFM, February.
———, “In the Tower,” Universe 17.
———, “To Hell with the Stars,” IASFM, December.
Cooper McLaughlin, “The Order of the Peacock Angel,” F & SF, January.
Tom Maddox, “Spirit of the Night,” IASFM, September.
Barry N. Maltzberg, “The Queen of Lower Saigon,” In the Field of Fire.
George R. R. Martin, “The Pear-Shaped Man,” Omni, October.
Lisa Mason, “Arachne,” Omni, November.
Pat Murphy, “Clay Devils,” Twilight Zone, April.
Susan Palwick, “The Visitation,” Amazing, September.
Frederik Pohl, “My Life as a Born-Again Pig,” Synergy 1.
———, “The View from Mars Hill,” IASFM, May.
Steven Popkes, “The Rose Garden,” IASFM, August.
———, “Stovelighter,” IASFM, mid-December.
Keith Roberts, “Equivalent for Giles,” Tales from the Forbidden Planet.
———, “Piper’s Wait,” Other Edens.
———, “The Tiger Sweater,” F & SF, October.
R. Garcia y Robertson, “The Flying Mountain,” Amazing, May.
Kim Stanley Robinson, “The Blind Geometer,” IASFM, August.
———, “The Return from Rainbow Bridge,” F & SF, August.
Rudy Rucker, “Bringing in the Sheaves,” IASFM, January.
———, “The Man Who Was a Cosmic String,” The Universe.
Richard Paul Russo, “Prayers of a Rain God,” F & SF, May.
Geoff Ryman, “Love Sickness,” Interzone 20–21.
Al Sarrantonio, “Pigs,” Shadows 10.
Charles Sheffield, “Guilt Trip,” Analog, August.
———, “Trapalanda” IASFM, June.
Lucius Shepard, “The Black Clay Boy,” Whispers VI.
———, “The Glassblower’s Dragon,” F & SF, April.
———, “On the Border,” IASFM, August.
———, “The Sun Spider,” IASFM, April.
Lewis Shiner, “Dancers,” Night Cry, Summer.
———, “Rebels,” Omni, November.
——— and Edith Shiner, “Six Flags over Jesus,” IASFM, November.
John Shirley, “Ticket to Heaven,” F & SF, December.
Robert Silverberg, “The Fascination of the Abomination,” IASFM, July.
———, “The Secret Sharer,” IASFM, September.
Dave Smeds, “Goats,” In the Field of Fire.
———, “Termites,” IASFM, May.
Dean Wesley Smith, “The Jukebox Man,” Night Cry, Fall.
Brian Stableford, “Layers of Meaning,” Interzone 21.
———, “Sexual Chemistry,” Interzone 20.
Bruce Sterling, “The Little Magic Shop,” IASFM, October.
Tim Sullivan, “Dinosaur on a Bicycle,” IASFM, March.
Michael Swanwick, “Foresight,” Interzone 20.
Steve Rasnic Tem, “Dinosaur,” IASFM, May.
James Tiptree, Jr. “Yanqui Doodle,” IASFM, July.
Larry Tritten, “In Video Veritas,” F & SF, December.
Harry Turtledove, “Images,” IASFM, March.
———, “Last Favor,” Analog, mid-December.
———, “Superwine,” IASFM, April.
Eric Vinicoff, “Independents,” Analog, April.
Howard Waldrop, “He-We-Await,” All About Strange Monsters of the Recent Past.
———, “Thirty Minutes over Broadway!,” Wild Cards 1.
Ian Watson, “Jewels in an Angel’s Wings,” Synergy 1.
———, “The Moon and Michelangelo,” IASFM, October.
———, “When Jesus Comes down the Chimney,” Interzone 18.
Lawrence Watt-Evans, “Why I Left Harry’s All-Night Hamburgers,” IASFM, July.
Andrew Weiner, “The Alien in the Lake,” IASFM, September.
———, “Rider,” IASFM, July.
———, “Waves,” IASFM, March.
Dean Whitlock, “Roadkill,” IASFM, November.
Cherie Wilkerson, “The Moment of the Rose,” IASFM, February.
Walter Jon Williams, “Wolf Time,” IASFM, January.
Connie Willis, “Lord of Hosts,” Omni, June.
———, “Winter’s Tale,” IASFM, December.
Robert Charles Wilson, “Ballads in ¾ Time,” F & SF, April.
———, “Extras,” F & SF, December.
Robley Wilson, Jr., “Flaggers,” IASFM, June.
Ken Wisman, “The Finder-Keeper,” Shadows 10.
———, “The Philosophical Stone,” Interzone 21.
Gene Wolfe, “In the House of Gingerbread,” Architecture of Fear.
———, “The Peace Spy,” IASFM, January.
Jane Yolen, “The White Babe,” IASFM, June.
———, “Wolf/Child,” Twilight Zone, June.
Robert F. Young, “What Bleak Land,” F & SF, January.
ALSO BY GARDNER DOZOIS
Anthologies
A Day in the Life
Another World
Beyond the Golden Age
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Sixth Annual Collection
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Seventh Annual Collection
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Eighth Annual Collection
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Ninth Annual Collection
Best Science Fiction Stories of the Year, Tenth Annual Collection
Future Power (with Jack Dann)
Aliens! (with Jack Dann)
Unicorns! (with Jack Dann)
Magicats! (with Jack Dann)
Bestiary! (with Jack Dann)
Mermaids! (with Jack Dann)
Sorcerers! (with Ja
ck Dann)
Demons! (with Jack Dann)
The Year’s Best Science Fiction, First Annual Collection
The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Second Annual Collection
The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Third Annual Collection
The Year’s Best Science Fiction, Fourth Annual Collection
Fiction
Strangers
The Visible Man (collection)
Nightmare Blue (with George Alec Effinger)
Nonfiction
The Fiction of James Tiptree, Jr.
Acknowledgment is made for permission to print the following material:
“Rachel in Love,” by Pat Murphy. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, April 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Dream Baby,” by Bruce McAllister. Copyright © 1987 by Jeanne Van Buren Dann and Jack Dann. First published in In the Field of Fire (Tor). Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Flowers of Edo,” by Bruce Sterling. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, May 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Forever Yours, Anna,” by Kate Wilhelm. Copyright © 1987 by Omni Publication International, Ltd. First published in Omni, July 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“At the Cross-Time Jaunters’ Ball,” by Alexander Jablokov. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, August 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Dinosaurs,” by Walter Jon Williams. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, June 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“The Temporary King,” by Paul J. McAuley. Copyright © 1987 by Mercury Press, Inc. First published in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, January 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Perpetuity Blues,” by Neal Barrett, Jr. Copyright © 1987 by Davis Publications, Inc. First published in Isaac Asimov’s Science Fiction Magazine, May 1987. Reprinted by permission of the author.
“Buffalo Gals, Won’t You Come Out Tonight,” by Ursula K. Le Guin. Copyright © 1987 by Ursula K. Le Guin; first appeared in a book of the same title from Capra Press and in The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, November 1987, simultaneously. Reprinted by permission of the author and the author’s agent, Virginia Kidd.
The Year’s Best Science Fiction: Fifth Annual Collection Page 90